Less than five years after cutting the ribbon on their new municipal complex, leaders and staff in the Town of Moreau continue to be plagued by a number of problems with the building's construction. Our Matt Hunter sat down with Moreau's new supervisor to discuss the challenges.

MOREAU, N.Y. – In the less than five years since the Town of Moreau's new municipal center opened, staff and officials say they've dealt with a myriad of problems.

"You can have the best drawing in the world, but if you don’t have oversight on the construction, things can fall through the cracks," Moreau Town Supervisor Todd Kusnierz said Wednesday.

Caused by the wrong type of pipes being attached to exterior spigots and the improper installation of the fire suppression system, Kusnierz says the building has flooded at least twice. There's also a lack of adequate heating and cooling in both the town justices' offices and court's holding area for inmates.

"In order to do the day-to-day business of the public, you have to have employees that are in a safe, proper work environment,” he said. “Not having heat and access to plumbing that works and things like that is a priority."

Supervisor since the first of this year, Kusnierz was the lone town board member to vote against spending almost $2.6 million to construct the building when the project was approved.

"I did not think there was enough money there to actually construct both buildings properly,” Kusnierz said. “Unfortunately, those concerns have come to fruition."

With a leaky roof, the town’s highway garage, which opened around the same time as the new municipal center, is also in need of expensive repairs.

"We have seen some staggering numbers for repair of the highway garage roof, ranging anywhere from $350,000 to over $550,000," Kusnierz said.

As they continue with temporary solutions like keeping bathroom doors open to avoid frozen pipes, Kusnierz says the architect who signed off on the construction will tour the building Monday to identify possible solutions and help determine what they may cost the town.

"We have not budgeted money for that, so it will be a town board decision on how we want to move forward," he said.

While town board members are weighing legal action to recoup the costs tied to flood damage, Kusnierz says his hope is to put the issues behind them soon.

"You can play the blame game and who should have done what, but this board is unified and focused like a laser on moving forward to correct the problems," he said.